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1959 BSCC Season
The 1959 British Saloon Car Championship was the second running of the championship, organised by the British Racing & Sports Car Club.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_British_Saloon_Car_Championship_season 1959 saw a change in regulations, with the BRSCC attempting to run the series in a similar vein to those held on the continent. Regulations The BRSCC decided to adopt FIA appendix J, rules which were specifically designed for Saloon car championships. These regulations meant that, once again, the Class system was based on engine size. This change had a significant affect on the field, as those cars that once dominated their classes were in different classes. One example is Jack Sears (reigning champion), whose Austin A105 dominated Class C the previous year, yet in 1959 would have been one of the least powerful cars in Class D. First Round: Goodwood The first race of 1959, held at Goodwood in West Sussex (hosting its first BSCC race).http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1959%20BSCC.html A relatively large field (around 24 cars) gathered at the circuit, with all four classes running together. As was expected, the three of Jaguar 3.4 litres (the most powerful cars on the grid), ran away from the rest of the field in Class D, with Ivor Bueb claiming victory in the Equipe Endeavour machine while Roy Salvadori and Gawaine Baillie completed the podium. In Class C, Jeff Uren took his Ford Zephyr to victory in the class (fifth overall), with David Haynes and Ellis Cuff-Miller completing a Zephyr cleansweep of the Class C podium. Jeff was able to beat his brother Doug (running another Jag in Class D), showing impressive pace in his old car. Class B saw an impressive display by Les Leston in his Riley 1.5, in which he was able to finish sixth overall and set a new Lap Record around the circuit. Leston finished more than a lap ahead of F. Scott and D. Harris (who joined him on the Class B podium). Bringing up the rear of the field was Class A, with "Doc" Shepherd taking the class, beating the Austin A35s of Len Adams and Paddy Gaston. Second Round: Aintree 200 Round Two of the season, and once again the entire field was thrown together for a one-off race (run in support of the Aintree 200 non-championship Formula 1 race), won once again by Bueb in his Jaguar. Remarkably, Bueb broke Tommy Sopwith's lap record (set in a non-championship race in 1958) in a washed out qualifying session the day before. He was followed across the line by Salvadori, Baillie and Dick Protheroe in their Jags, with Maurice Charles completing Class D. Classes C and B followed the Jags across the line, with Jeff Uren and Les Leston taking the honours in their respective classes. The Zephyr's dominance was halted, with Peter Blond in his Jaguar 2.4 litre claiming second in Class C, splitting the Zephyrs. In Class B, H.R. Vincent and H. Brierley completed the podium. Class A continued as the most popular class, with a number of drivers using the proven Austin A35. "Doc" Shepherd took the honours, followed by John Young and John Willment in two Fords. Ray North became the first driver to race a Swedish car, using a Saab GT 750. Third Round: Silverstone The BSCC made its first appearance at Silverstone, supporting the 11th running of the British Racing Drivers Club International Trophy. Although the usual procession of Jaguars won (led home by Bueb, Salvadori and Baillie), the race was noted for an extrodinary event in Class B. Volvo saw fit to send no fewer than four Volvo 122 Ss, shipped in directly from Sweden. Three of the Swedish creations dominated the Class B field, taking first, second and fourth in class. Gunnar Andersson became the first class winner not from the United Kingdom. In Class C, Peter Blond upset Jeff Uren's run of class victories, winning in his Jaguar 2.4 litre from Uren's Zephyr. The good Doctor Shepherd took victory in Class A in his Austin A40, beating four Austin A35s to the victory in the race. John Young's Ford Prefect was later promoted to second in Class A, having had a clarification made to move him to Class A (from Class B as it was confirmed that the Prefect had an engine capacity of 1,172cc, under the maximum limit for Class A). Fourth Round (A): Crystal Palace On the 18th of May, the BSCC ran at two tracks, a result of the Formula 2 meeting at Crystal Palace. Classes A and B, with the majority of the BSCCs normal faces running in the F2 race, ran at the Palace. As a result, the relatively large Class A field was limited to four cars (with three in Class B), with Geoff Williamson beating the "Doctor" to victory. They were followed by Les Leston (who won in Class B) Adams and a brace of Borgward Isabella TSs. Fourth Round (B): Goodwood 50 miles south of the Palace, Classes C and D met at Goodwood for a single race. The lone runner in Class D, Baillie, took advantage of Bueb's absence to win the race, from the herd of Ford Zephyrs, led by Jeff Uren. Interestingly, the race was run within another race, intended for GT cars. Fifth Round: Snetterton Round five of the BSCC season saw the paddock move to Snetterton, where they were joined by reigning champion Jack Sears (who no longer competed in the BSCC due to the new regulations making his Austin A105 uncompetitive). Sears was equipped with Bueb's Jaguar 3.4 litre, run by Equipe Endeavour. A dream return to the championship was thwarted when his breaks began to overheat near the end of the 100 mile race, allowing Baillie to sweep past and take the victory. Joining the Jags on the podium was Jeff Uren, who won in Class C once again. He was followed by the "Doctor" and Adams in Class A and Peter Pilsworth in Class B, more than a lap ahead of the next Class C runner, Barney Everley. Five of the Nineteen entrants failed to finish the 'endurance' race, officially known as the Eastern Counties 100 Trophy Meeting. Sixth Round: Brands Hatch Formula One came and left Britain before the next meeting, meaning the BSCC would have to support Formula 2 when they came to play at Brands Hatch on the 3rd of August. Class A, with fifteen entrants, was given its own race, won by Geoff Williamson after the Doctor's engine blew up a lap before the finish. Williamson was joined by John Young and Chris Threlfall (returning to the championship in his Skoda) on the podium. In the second race, Classes B, C and D ran together, with Baillie (now the only runner in Class D) taking the win. He was joined on the podium, once again, by Jeff Uren and Haynes in their Ford Zephyrs, as Uren's march to the Class C title continued. Class B was won by Leston, whose "ridiculously fast" Riley took a decisive step to the Class B title. Seventh Round: Kentish International 100 (Brands Hatch) The final meeting of the BSCC in 1959 with the field running in the same format as before, with Class A competing before the Formula 2 race. A feeling of deja-vu swept the field as, on the same corner, on the same lap, in the same position, Doctor Shepherd's engine blew up once again, handing victory to Williamson once again. The Doctor won his Class championship, but still had to see Uren fail to finish his race before he could claim the Bonneville Trophy. Sadly for Shepherd, Uren not only finished his race, but won his Class, finishing the race in third, behind the Class D Jags of Sears and Baillie. Leston, in his Riley had a chance of forcing Uren to a duel for the title, but, after losing water throughout the race, Leston was forced to retire, handing the Bonneville Trophy to Uren. In the end, Uren won the championship by four points. Entries All entrants to the 1959 BSCC season are shown below: Final Standings 1959 had an unusual points scoring system, with each Class' points allocation based on the number of entries in each race. As such, with Class C being the most well attended of the classes, and Jeff Uren the most consistent, it was no surprise that the Englishman would become BSCC Champion in 1959 with the Ford Zephyr. George "Doc" Shepherd claimed victory in Class A and finished second overall, while Gawaine Baillie claimed the honours in Class D with third overall. Les Leston completed the top four and took the Class B honours, although the overall order is debatable below Shepherd. Champions The Bonneville Trophy was awarded to Jeff Uren, who took the championship at the final round. There were no other championships that year, apart from the individual class championships (although these were not awarded with trophys or honours). References Images: *http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51653 - Uren Zephyr Category:Seasons